Education Fever

1. Korean Education until 1945

9 1 Korean Education until 1945 Whataretheoriginsofthenationalobsessionwitheducation?Koreans , both experts and laymen, most often attribute their “education fever” and the educational transformation of their society to their cultural heritage. Indeed, Korea entered the twentieth century with a centuries-old tradition in which formal learning and scholarship played a central role in society. This tradition, usually associated with Confucianism, entered Korea from China more than ¤fteen centuries ago. After the uni¤cation of the peninsula in the seventh century, Confucianism emerged as the central ideology of the state. A major theme of Confucianism is governance by men of merit—that is, men of talent and virtue. In ordertorecruitmenintogovernment,acivilexaminationsystemwas adoptedin Korea in 958 patterned on the system developed in China during the Tang dynasty .Subsequently,throughoutthe Koryôperiod(918–1392), aconcernfor education grew as a means of preparing men for the examinations and promoting Confucianlearningandmoraltraining.Toaidinthistaskanationalacademy— the Kukchagam—was established in 982, and in 1127 King Injong ordered that each chu (prefecture) and hyôn (district) establish a school.1 With the establishment of the Chosôn (Yi) dynasty (1392–1910), Confucian ideology was strengthened in the form referred to by Western scholars as Neo-Confucianism, and the examination system became virtually the only route to high government of¤ce. EducationintraditionalKoreawasvaluedasbothameansofself-cultivation and a way of achieving status and power. An individual could become virtuous through the study of ethically oriented Confucian classics; he could then play an informal role as a moral exemplar and teacher and adviser to others, thus 10 korean education until 1945 enhancing his status and in¶uence in society. As did members of other East Asian societies, Koreans highly esteemed the written word and the prodigious effortstomastertheaccumulatedbodyofliteraryandscholarlyworks.Furthermore , the examination system, based on the mastery of Chinese classics and literary skill, played a central role in allocating bureaucratic positions and the social status and privileges that were attached to them. The early Chosôn period leaders established a fairly comprehensive network of schools as a means of establishing loyalty, maintaining orthodoxy, and recruiting of¤cials. Basic education was provided by village schools, known as sôdang orsôjae,andbyprivatetutoring.Theoriginsofthesôdangarenotknown, but they appearto predatethe Chosôn period.The sôdangwasusually locatedin the house of the teacher and consisted of a small number of neighborhood boys, generally not more than ten or twelve, who entered at around the age of seven or eight. Each studied at his own pace for an indeterminate period usually lasting at least four or ¤ve years.2 Although these schools were outside the of¤cial system of education, early Chosôn rulers encouraged their formation, for they were seen as a means of selecting and preparing talented youths for entry into the of¤cial state schools.3 The sôdang remained the most common institution of formal education in Korea until well into the twentieth century. At a more advanced level, a system of state-sponsored local schools called hyanggyo existed to prepare students for the civil examinations. These included the four sahak, organized in four of the ¤ve districts of Seoul, and schools established in each of the provinces. Each sahak accepted 160 and later just 100 students . There were over three hundred hyanggyo (the ¤gure varied somewhat over time) throughout the countryside. The number of students assigned to these schools was ¤xed by law in the ¤fteenth century and ranged from 30 to 90 according to the type of local administrative unit (mok, kun, hyôn, etc.). Students entered at around the age of sixteen and at about the age of eighteen or nineteen were allowed to sit for the lower-level civil exams (sama). Admittance to a hyanggyo brought with it the coveted status of yuhak, which included exemption from military duty and eligibility for taking the civil service exams. At the pinnacle of Chosôn education were those who had passed the sama and had entered the National Academy (Sônggyun’gwan). These students were often eighteen or nineteen years old when admitted, and then at various ages, often between twenty and twenty-three, they would compete for the munkwa, the higher-level civil service examination.4 korean education until 1945 11 The basic structure of Chosôn schooling was set up in the early ¤fteenth century; however, there were signi¤cant changes during subsequent centuries. The of¤cial schools experienced a gradual decline, and although they continued to function until the end of the...